Has the European Commission decided to cancel International Women's Day observance, typically celebrated on March 8th? No, that's not true: The European Commission commemorated International Women's Day and urged women of all ages worldwide to exercise their voting rights, assert their presence in society, and feel empowered to engage in political life. Likewise, Ursula von der Leyen, President of the Commission, underscored the significance of combating gender inequality.
The claim originated from a TikTok video (archived here) published on March 7, 2024. It opened (translated from Croatian to English by Lead Stories staff):
Hi guys, tomorrow is March 8, so I would like to congratulate all women on their day, women and those who feel that way, and at the same time to inform you that it is one of the last eighth Marches that will be celebrated as Women's Day. Given that the European Commission considers that every day belongs to women, not only one day of the year, so they are going to cancel the eighth of March, because they consider it a type of segregation, blah blah blah blah blah... That is one of the trajectories of gender ideology. and precisely because of gender ideology, that day is abolished. We will see what else will be abolished, but it is definite that things will go in the direction I have been telling you for a long time.
This is what the post looked like on TikTok at the time of writing:
(Source: TikTok screenshot taken on Thu Mar 28 08:57:54 2024 UTC)
The European Commission and the High Representative released a statement (archived here) on March 7, 2024, concerning International Women's Day. They recognized the brave activism of European suffragettes who championed the right to vote and advocated for increased efforts to inspire and advance women's inclusion in politics.
They also contemplated the multitude of efforts undertaken throughout the years to advocate for women's rights and combat gender inequality. According to the European Commission, women's engagement in society, particularly in decision-making roles, is crucial. Hence, they urged women of all ages worldwide to exercise their voting rights, assert their presence in society, and feel empowered to engage in political life. The global theme for the 2024 International Women's Day was "Inspire Inclusion," aligning with this year's United Nations theme, "Invest in women: Accelerate progress" (archived here).
On March 6, 2024, the European Commission, alongside Vice President Věra Jourová, convened a conference in Brussels titled "Women in Public Life" (archived here), featuring discussions on women's roles in politics, journalism, and civil society. Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, delivered a statement (archived here). Drawing attention to the upcoming elections, she underscored that attaining gender equality demands intentional action rather than unfolding naturally.
Yet, neither the statements from the European Commission nor those of Ursula von der Leyen made any reference to the cancellation of Women's Day, as asserted in the post.
A search using Google News' index of thousands of credible outlets was conducted by Lead Stories on March 11, 2024, with the keywords, "European Commission cancelling International Women's Day" (archived here). The Google search did not yield any results to confirm the claim.
